Behind bars
by keniakittykat
Summary: A money scheme from Mr. Krabs causes Spongebob and squidward to be sentenced to jail. How will they survive locked up together ? (Not dropped!)
1. Chapter 1

Another day at the Krusty Krab restaurant. Squidward was standing outside; leaning against the glass wall.

He just needed a break for a second. The place had been a madhouse all day, the place was more crowded than ever before.

While not having a particularly good tolerance for noise and busyness he just stepped out for a moment. He must have been just clearing his mind for a minute or three when the peace was disturbed by a loud commanding voice yelling from a few feet away.  
"What are you just standing there for? We have customers, and I don't pay you for just loafin' around!"

The squid sighed and made he way to the door. "You barely pay me anything..." He sneered silently as he walked over to the register.  
"What was that?" Krabs asked in an annoyed manner. "Ugh, forget it."

There was already a line of people waiting in front of the counter. "I tried covering for you, but it's just so busy today, I can't even keep up with my own work." He heard his coworker say from the kitchen behind him. Squidward didn't respond, he just got on with his work, hoping that the commotion would at least push the hours faster.

Later than sooner it was finally 8Pm. Squidward limply hung over a table, and Spongebob was finishing up on cleaning the kitchen while Mr. Krabs counted the day's earnings.  
"Ha-ha We haven't been doing this good in years! All this money, and it's all mine!" The greedy crab announced to himself. "And still do we barely make ends-meet." Squidward complained to himself.  
"Stop yer complainin', and be glad I didn't lay you off already." Krabs replied.

"What? I've been slaving for weeks now, and I'm sweaty, I'm tired and just overworked. There are only the two of us and it's just way too much!"  
But his boss just raised an eyebrow at the statements.  
"Maybe a better spirited worker could give me a second opinion?" He said while turning to Spongebob who walked into the room.  
"I dunno Mr. Krabs, even I'm pretty overwhelmed by all the extra work." The sponge said while holding his head like it was aching.

"So it's all getting too much?" "Yeah." Squidward replied.  
"And you want bigger pay, eh?" "There's enough money coming in, and we deserve it."  
"Well... Forget it!" Krabs said firmly while slamming the register shut to emphasize his point.  
"And now off with ye, and I expect a better attitude in the morning!" Even Spongebob who didn't really care about the money looked disappointed. "For the both of ye!"

Squidward just swallowed his pride and rushed out, with Spongebob following closely behind.  
"Good night, Mr. Krabs..." He uttered just as he went trough the door.

The both of them had a horrible evening and night, especially the frail Spongebob was unable to get good rest from his aching limbs.  
Squidward who was normally very neat and organized didn't even bother to change into his night clothes, he just took a quick shower and went to bed.  
The next morning Squidward pulled his boat from the garage as he saw Spongebob walking by. Feeling a bit sorry for the tired sponge he offered him a ride.

When they arrived they were greeted by their boss. "Good mornin' Crew." He said cheery. Squidward was just disgusted by the friendly facade and refused to reply. "Good morning Mr. Krabs." Spongebob said in a slightly cheery mood.  
"Well, you two can put the frowns away. I've done some calculatin' and it seems that you are getting the raise you desperately want." Squidward knew better than to expect for anything major so he just rolled his eyes and took a seat behind the counter. "Here ye go." Krabs said while handing both an envelope.

"Wow!" Spongebob exclaimed as Squidward opened his. "A raise of 700$? This can't be right..."  
"Ye better believe it's right, Mr. Squidward. I can't let my workers go hungry now can I?" Squidward knew something was up, but he just dismissed his preconceptions and thought that it would just be cheaper to give them a raise, than it would be to lighten the work pressure by hiring more people.

"Well at least my slave labor is compensated now..." He sighed as the day began.

A few months later Spongebob and Squidward had adapted to the new work pace and the tiredness eventually wore off.  
Squidward was just taking orders as suddenly the police walked in followed by a man in a suit and briefcase. "What can I do for you?" He asked in a less than enthusiastic voice.

They didn't answer him, but immediately got handcuffed behind his back.  
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" He screamed at the officers. While one of them went to the back. "Huh? What's this? Hey! Why are you-" The policeman walked out the kitchen, dragging Spongebob with him.

"Squidward, what's going on?"  
He looked around in panic, as an onslaught of shocked customers looked back at him.  
The suited man stepped forward as he cleared his throat. "I can tell you exactly what's going on, Mr. Squarepants." He said while opening his briefcase. I am Sly Repodep, financial worker And you are under arrest for payroll fraud."  
"What?"  
"What does that mean, Squidward?..."

"It means that you two owe the state over 5000$ in tax money, with the interest that's almost 10.000. And since you both have by far nothing to pay off with and the fact that you committed a crime, well..."  
"I did no such thing! I'm innocent!" Squidward desperately shouted. "Don't lie, Tentacles..." Sly said while holding a piece of paper in front of him. "You both actively altered your contracts in order to give yourselves a raise." They couldn't believe it, but it was right there in front of them, signed and all...

"Krabs.. Where's that rusty red barnacle? He's the one behind all this!" Squidward yelled while struggling. But he was pushed back to his seat with some force, hurting him. One policeman went to check on Krabs but-  
"The office is empty, seems like the coward fled..."  
"The bastard!" "Shut up, Squidy." One of the policemen said while hitting him with his gummy stick.  
"Squidward!" Spongebob squealed.

Sly beckoned and the policemen dragged them outside after instructing everyone to clear the building.  
Spongebob was just too caught up in the moment to react intensely, unlike Squidward who was still yelling and struggling along the way. They gave him a final thud in the stomach and punched him into the police car.

"What's gonne happen to us, Squidward?..." Spongebob asked scared with tears inn his eyes.  
"I don't know, Spongebob..."


	2. Calling home

While driving Squidward gave up on denying and figured he wouldn't be able to do anything right now anyway.

Spongebob on the other hand wasn't nearly this calm. He was shaking and he was crying quietly, though no one inside the vehicle noticed.

After some time they arrived at a large gray building surrounded by fences with barbed wire. Spongebob looked up from the window and froze in fear, Squidward on the other hand just slowly shook his head and knew it was all over for them.

Heavy iron gates opened slowly and soon enough they drove inside as it closed behind them.

The car doors opened as they both stepped out. Even though he has two extra legs Squidward found it hard to keep standing. They both looked around; it was an uninviting environment, nothing but steel and concrete.

Two prison guards greeted the policemen and Sly. Afterwards Sly turned to the two prisoners. "Well, here we are then. Because you both have a motive, and there's blatant evidence of your crime you two were filed for immediate arrest. Until further investigation can prove your innocence will this be your new home. Bikini bottom county prison. If no evidence can be found that proves you are not guilty you will have to stay here for three years." At that bombshell Spongebob just broke down.

"But I tell you, I'm innocent, I would never break the law like that!" He said through his sobs.

"See, does that look like a criminal to you?" Squidward asked angrily.

"I've seen worse, they always act soft when they first arrive here. And it would be wise, Mr. Tentacles, if you held your opinions to yourself whatever you say will be used against you, you know..." He answered with a slimy grin on his face. Squidward gave him an angry glare as Sly walked away.

"We'll take it from here." One of the guards said. The policemen nodded and took off. The loud metallic thud of the gate lingered on in their heads.

The guards told the two convicts to follow.

As they walked past the courtyard the other inmates started shouting at them, attempting to be intimidating. Thieves, robbers, murderers... And they were one of them now...

Spongebob never was more afraid in his life, he attempted to get closer to Squidward to find some sort of comfort but he picked up the pace, so he wouldn't get the chance, leaving the scared sponge behind with his fears.

As they got inside, the sight got even more depressing, no windows just concrete and fluorescent lighting. After a while they reached the supplies room.

"Here are the new arrivals..." One of the guards said to the burly older man sitting at an iron desk who just nodded back. He got up and looked at the two prisoners. "Search, wash and dress, routine job.." He muttered.

The cuffs were removed and Spongebob didn't know where to keep his hands, rubbing them together anxiously.

"Hands to the wall." The prison worker said, and so they did.

As Squidward felt the worker's fins run over his body he felt completely humiliated and uncomfortable, having his private space invaded like that. But the worst part was when he lifted his tentacles one by one to check his suction cups. When it was Spongebob's turn he stood frozen on his legs.

"Clear. "Any tattoo's piercings or scars?" They turned back around shook their heads and were handed a small pile of grayish blue folded clothes. "Put these on, and hand in your own." Squidward examined the pile and noticed these included regular two-legged pants. "It just keeps getting better..." He silently muttered as he changed.

They both handed over their apparel before getting cuffed once again.

"Well then. before I lead you to your cells you are allowed one call."

Spongebob didn't know who to pick: Patrick or his parents. As they were lead to the wall phone in the hallway he thought it over. What would his mother and father think if they knew their son was in jail? They would be so disappointed... But on the other hand, he couldn't just ignore his best friend.

"So here we are. You can do it now and get it over with, or wait 2 hours, choice is yours." As Spongebob stood there undecided Squidward stepped in to say; "I think we'll wait."

"Alright then, follow me."

They ventured through the wide corridors of the prison, reaching a door that said 'Dorm 3'. The worker checked the lists that hung next to the door.

"Looks like you two are in luck. We're out of spare inmates so I will have to put you two together. Squidward never would have thought that being confined to the same room as Spongebob could be the lucky option.

They walked on and stopped in front of 'cell 23'. When the door opened, it wasn't all that bad. It seemed like a very bare bedroom. A bunkbed and a desk with a small window with bars in front.

"You will wake up every morning at 8am, follow the signs to the cafeteria, after breakfast you will be handed your work schedules." He undid the cuffs and stood back. "And in the meantime, think about that phonecall, you wouldn't want someone else to inform your family, would you?"

The door closed and Spongebob teared-up again as he examined the bare room. Squidward let himself fall on one of the beds and tried to make sense of everything.

"Do you believe me now that Krabs is a just fish waste?" Spongebob shook his head. "Something else is going on here, I don't believe he would do such a thing..." The squid didn't believe his ears.

"Spongebob, he got us locked up for three whole years! Do you know what that means? I know you're a naive idiot, but you can't just ignore the fact that he totally stabbed us in the back?!" Squidward shouted at Spongebob who had his back turned to him.

"Have you thought of who you're gonna call?" Sponge asked.

"No, I don't really know who would care enough anyway. And me and my mother haven't spoken to each other in years, and my father, I don't even know where he is and I don't really care to know... Have you?"

Spongebob went to sit next to him, still looking down while nervously rubbing his hands.

"I couldn't decide at first, but I think I'm calling my parents... Patrick would be too caught up in it all to tell them and he probably wouldn't understand what happened anyway." This sounded reasonable and fair to him. No one would feel duped.

"I don't think I'm gonna make that call... I don't know who would care anyway."

"I would care."

Squidward knew this was mostly a one-sided friendship, but seeing how calm and serious the easy excitable sponge could be, made him wonder about the guy.

The next one and a half hour passed by in silence as they had nothing left to say. The silence was broken by the door opening. They walked back to the phone.

Spongebob was shaking and barely able to dial the number. The monotone beeps seemed to go one forever as he was eventually greeted by an old familiar voice.

"Dad? It's me." ... "I don't know how to say this..." ... "What? No, it's not that. But calm down for a moment."  
He took a deep breath as tears formed in his eyes.  
"I'm in jail." ... "No, it's not what you think! Krabs tempered with my contract and they think I did it." ... "Yes, fraud." ... "Mom?" ... "I know you believe I didn't do it but-" ... "Don't cry, you know this isn't forever." ... "Three years." ... "They'll work it out, I'll be back home soon."

He looked over to the prison worker who signed him to wrap it up.

"But I have to go." ... "I will, and could you take care of Gary while I'm not home?" ... "Thanks, mom. And Patrick..." ... "That's good. Please stop crying, I don't want you to be sad." ... "Well, I have to go." ... "Thanks dad. Take care of mom." ... "Love you too, Bye..."

He slowly hung up the phone and turned to Squidward.

"Your turn.."


	3. lookalike ally

Squidward had already made his mind up.

"I pass." He said rather nonchalantly.

"Are you sure you don't want to let your family know what happened?" The worker was surprisingly sympathetic towards them, but the stubborn squid just shook his head. "Me and the family aren't really on speaking terms, and I don't think calling them now would do anything good." Spongebob and the worker looked worried at each other after hearing that.

"Tell you what. I've seen many bad eggs come in here, from the biggest lowlifes to the most deranged criminals; but you two are not lowlife criminals. I will let you keep your call privilege open in case you change your mind."

"Well, alright, thanks. But I don't think I'll be needing it." Said Squidward.

Afterwards they were lead back to their cell. "It's 9:30 pm, try to get some sleep. It'll be a rough day for you boys tomorrow." Just before the door closed Spongebob told him to wait.

"What is it, kid?" "I just wonder what your name was." He said friendly.

"The name's Rick." He said while reaching out his hand. "I'm Spongebob, and thanks for believing us."

"Don't mention it kid, anyway, good night."

The door locked and there they were, both not really sure what to do, or what to say. Squidward was the first to do anything by taking his pants off.

"There, that's better…" He said while taking a seat, spreading his extra legs a bit.

Spongebob leaned to the door, letting himself slide down as he sat on the cold tiled floor; the sound of his mother's crying still echoing through his mind. Squidward looked up at the sponge and actually felt bad for him.

He sighed and looked around the bare room.

"Why didn't you want to call your family?" Spongebob asked softly.

"Can you please drop it, why do you ask anyway?" He responded, obviously annoyed.

"I just wanna know. That and they are your family, even if it's been a while, wouldn't they want to hear from you that you're in trouble?"

Squidward just gave him a sarcastic look. "Not all families are as close as yours, Spongebob. Most family members haven't seen me since my teens and my mother, well, like I said we haven't spoken in six years…" He explained while staring down at the floor.

He looked up as he noticed Spongebob was staring at him sympathetically, though he looked away as soon as he did.

The sponge didn't ask anything, but Squidward knew he wanted to, so he started explaining.

"Not going into any details but when my father left, well, reactions were had, things were said and I moved out before we could make up."

"I'm sorry…" Spongebob said,

"It's no big deal."

Squidward sighed when suddenly the lights went out.

"I think we should get some sleep, tomorrow will be tough enough anyway." he said.

Spongebob nodded and climbed to the top bed. Squidward took off the unfomfortable shirt and tried to get comfortable between the sheets.

The soft Spongebob was able to sleep almost anywhere so this wasn't much of an issue. But it didn't take long for the room to fill with the sound of him crying softly..

Long uncomfortable hours later, the lights when on and an alarm sounded. Spongebob shrieked in surprise while Squidward groaned and hid his head under the pillow.

After a minute the dreadful noise finally stopped as the young sponge climbed down. "I think it's time to get up, Squidward." The octopus gave him a fierce look and pushed the blankets aside.

"Damn Neptune, what time is it?" He groaned.

Spongebob just raised his shoulders in response. Squidward got back dressed in the rough-fabric outfit; he was just closing the last button on his shirt when the door opened.

The two peered outside the door and saw the other prisoners walking towards the cafeteria. Squidward beckoned the anxious sponge but didn't leave just yet.

"Okay, Spongebob, these are tough criminals we're about to deal with, so pay attention: Don't touch me, don't speak unless spoken to, and don't do anything silly. The last thing we want is to cause trouble. Just stick with me, and we will both make it out alive, understand?" Spongebob looked really freaked out and nodded.

"Good, now follow me." He said while turning around and walking out with the Sponge following closely. They noticed being stared at by others, but didn't give a reaction.

When they reached the cafeteria Squidward didn't even bother to go stand in line, he wouldn't be able to eat anything anyway. He just sat down at an empty table while Spongebob stepped in line.

He was incredibly nervous, the little sponge, but thankfully the others were far too hungry or sleepy to mess with him. The food didn't even look all that bad; it was just your standard sandwiches but it was alright.

Squidward was trying his best not to fall back to sleep and was hunched over the table when he noticed someone placing a cup of coffee next to him. The sleepy octopus looked up, expecting to see the Sponge but instead a crab took a seat next to him. He was still drowsy and muttered. "Krabs?"

The crab smiled at him. "That's the name, but how did you know?"

Squidward was almost ready to strangle him, but noticed his voice and accent was different and he looked way younger…

"Lucky guess, I think. You just look familiar to someone I know." He said while grabbing the mug.

"Most of us look alike I guess. What do they call you, Tentacles?" The crab asked before taking a bite from his sandwich.

"Hmph, talk about easy name guessing. I'm Squidward Q. Tentacles." The Crab reached out his claw as they shook hands.

"The name's Crabs, Johnny Crabs."

Just then Spongebob joined them. "Mr. Krabs?" He asked mystified.

"Who's this other Krabs you guys keep talking about? And who are y-"

Johnny was abruptly interrupted by a tight embrace by the Spongy stranger.

"Oh, Mr. Krabs, I knew you'd come for us! There's been a terrible mistake, they think Squidward and I-"

Squidward then Violently tore him off the Crab and basically threw him back in his seat.

"You barnacle, keep quiet, this isn't Krabs!"

"It isn't?" He then took a closer look and notices the paler color and younger appearance. He then gasped and started apologizing.

"Uh, is this kid alright?"

"Johnny, meet Spongebob…" "Right, Spongebob, but who is this other crabs fellow?"

"He's the reason we're in here." Squidward said angrily.

"Squidward thinks he's the one who messed with our contracts and got us arrested for fraud, but I don't believe he would do such a thing." Spongebob said while giving him an angry look.

"Wait, you don't mean Eugene Krabs, do you?" The both of them nodded and Johnny just started laughing.

"Oh, boy. Eugene is an uncle of mine, and I'm pretty sure he would do such a thing; once that old salty sea creature has smelled money he would do his own mother in…"

Johnny kept on laughing but Spongebob, in his endless gullibility, still kept faith that it was all a misunderstanding.

Just then a guard passed by and threw a booklet of stapled papers on their table. "Work schedules." Johnny said while browsing through the pages. "Hallway sweeping… Meh, the usual."

Squidward was next to look. "Spongebob's on kitchen duty, no surprise there…" The little sponge let out a silent cheer. "Now where is my… Renovations and upkeep? What's this?" He said confused.

"You know: painting walls, retiling floors, fixing stuff. I only have to warn you two, these guys are unpredictable and dangerous. And you're in the only work groups that allow the use of sharp tools. Just be on the lookout." Johnny said before getting up.

"Why are you helping us? Squidward asked.

"Ask around, I always help out the newbies. I have a ten-year sentence so I might as well make some use of myself. Well, see you guys at recess…" With that said he walked away.


End file.
